FILMMAKER and founding member of Dariro Arts, Moderate Kasvosve, aims to address misconceptions about single motherhood in order to highlight life’s realities and have a positive impact on societies through reality shows.
After speaking with a few single mothers, Kasvosve told NewsDay Life & Style that he tried to address societal misconceptions about them, including the difficulties they face and stigmatisation.
“There are lone parents and single mothers in our society who are carrying a lot of responsibility and some people label these women in society,” he said.
“They have faced pressure, emotional, physical and mental strains from raising children on their own.”
Kasvosve said interviews conducted with single mothers on condition of anonymity showed that they were overburdened with responsibilities and were having difficulty in adjusting to a society that judged them harshly.
“The challenges the women disclosed included feeling frightened, stressed and frustrated by the difference between their lives and their friends’,” he said.
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“They have pressures of fulfilling roles of both parents and are overwhelmed by the responsibility of caring for children and the pressures of being judged by some people in society.”
Kasvosve said women disclosed that their children were more likely to indulge in alcohol and substance abuse and entertain suicidal thoughts due to the pressure of growing up without both parents, while their mothers were typically shunned and treated like misfits in society.
He urged society to show compassion for single mothers and stop labelling and using derogatory language to undermine them.
The filmmaker emphasised that God loves everyone, regardless of their situations.
Kasvosve made films like Tariro (2014) and Single Mother (2016), unpacking societal judgement towards single mothers, while discouraging criticising them.
He also took part in advocating against gender-based violence with Musasa Project.